I decided for my first post to be about the transition to Philly. When thinking of a title, I thought Motown Philly was perfect. First off, who hates Boyz II Men?! Secondly, if you’re unfamiliar with the song, it tells the story of how the Boyz II Men group came about and their dreams coming true. Now the song title Motown Philly is special to me because I’m from Detroit, and among many of the negative connotations associated with my hometown, my favorite nickname for Detroit is “Motown”. We are known as Motown and for originating “The Motown Sound” because of founding great soul artist like The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, etc. In the Boyz II Men song title, they’re indicating bringing the “Motown Sound” to Philly because that’s where they originated.

As you can imagine, it’s the perfect title for my blog. While my ability to sing is up for popular opinion, I am bringing Motown to Philly and this blog is the start of my transition and my dreams coming true. Now, to keep your attention, I have organized and bulleted my top five noteworthy observations about my transition below.

It Stinks. Not like in a Philly sucks type of way, but in a literal, “What’s that smell?!” type of way. I’m no stranger to city life. But, I have never experienced so many interestingly disgusting smells in my life. I also do not have an understanding of when it’s trash day because there is always trash sitting out to be taken. And yes, I checked, it’s not always the same trash. After a while, you get used to it, but you get true city life here along with all the trash it comes with.

It’s Well-Structured. While, I don’t have a lot of experience living in different cities, I’ve had opportunities to visit and spend extended times in many of them like New York, Chicago, LA, SanFrancisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, etc. Philly has the size and appeal of many of those cities but it doesn’t feel overcrowded. There’s traffic but not head on the steering wheel/pull over to the side of the road and take a nap traffic. It’s all manageable.

It’s Lit. Now, before you judge me. I’m a millennial along with being an active contributor to the infamous “Black Twitter” so I am more than qualified to appropriately know when to use “lit”. And Philly is lit. I live in University City, which features different colleges and universities in one central neighborhood, so obviously, there’s always something going on in a neighborhood condensed of college students. But also, there are always things going on in Center City, or near the river at Penn’s Landing. Next week over labor day weekend, there’s the Made in America tour that will feature Jay-Z and J. Cole along with many other artists. I’m a college student, so I’m not going to buy tickets, but we’re going to get close enough to listen.

It’s Active. Like I said, Philly can give you the true city life if you let it. I came from the Midwest where each family has two cars and we drive everywhere, even to the store around the corner. It was hard to get in 10,000 steps at the end of the day. But now, I’m through 10,000 steps halfway through the day. I’ve invested in an Apple Watch and I feel really good about my activity!

It’s Fattening. It’s so much food! Now, I’m a foodie. I can eat eat and eat. I have been here for almost a month and I have yet to repeat a restaurant and I don’t plan to in the future because there is just so much good stuff that deserves my attention. I’ve also spoken with several different people who have experience in Philly and very rarely do I get a repeat restaurant in terms of list of favorites. I’ve done food trucks, dessert places, happy hours and I have yet to be disappointed. Because I’m eating out more and trying new things, in addition to walking a lot, I’m also working out. I added a workout plan so that I can feel good about all of the guilty pleasure things I’m putting into my body.

Well, those are my top five noteworthy transitions. Thanks for reading, I hope you stay on the journey with me!